Behold Your God

It is no mistake that the words “fear not” appear in Scripture so many times. Hundreds of times. God knew. The God of the universe knew we would struggle with fear, worry and anxiety. He knew we would need reminders, daily reminders, even moment by moment reminders to trust Him and leave our burdens in His capable hands. The reminders He gives us? They are all found in His Word.

When we behold our God through the pages of His Word, we are filled with peace and our fears turn to faith. Feeling anxious? Pick up your Bible and turn to Psalm 34. Feeling worried that provisions will not fall into place? Pick up your Bible and read Psalm 23. Feeling unseen and unappreciated? Pick up your Bible and meditate on the comforting words of Psaml 139.

Fear not. The God of the universe calls you by name. He knows you. He sees you. He loves you. When you pass through the waters – and you will – He is with you. He is Emmanual: God with us. God with you. God with me. The flames will not consume you. He is near.

Praying the Scriptures

Lord, God, Emmanuel, help me to believe. Help my unbelief. Help me to give my fears to You and fix my heart upon the promises of Your Word.

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.Isaiah 26:3

Behold Your God

The beautiful thing about learning to behold our God is that it not only brings Him glory, but He fills us with His peace at the same time. We are blessed when we fix our eyes on Jesus and give Him glory for all He has done. We are blessed when we take our eyes off of this world and place them on our Father. We are blessed when we can praise Him in the storms of life.

When we learn to behold our God, He keeps us in perfect peace. And the more we behold Him, the more we trust Him. The more we trust Him, the more peace we have. The more peace and trust we have, the more content we are right where God has us. The more content we are, the more freedom we have to be who we are in Christ and joyful in all things.

It all starts with beholding. What are you beholding today? Where are your eyes fixed? What are your thoughts fixed upon? What do you run to when you need comfort? What satisfies your soul? What are you allowing to occupy your mind more than Christ?

Praying the Scriptures

Lord, You are the peace-giver. You are peace. Help me every moment to keep my mind stayed on You, fixed on You, gazing upon You. And when I learn to gaze upon You, You grant me peace. Perfect peace.

Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. Proverbs 4:23

Behold Your God

How do we keep our hearts with vigilance? What does it even mean to “keep your heart?” Some versions say to “guard your heart.”

I like to picture a guard at a fancy palace. That guard knows what his job is and he likely does it with much seriousness. He is to keep the palace from harm. He is to stand guard, to protect against any enemy trying to get into the palace.

When we guard or protect our hearts, what are we guarding from? How do we guard a heart?

To guard our hearts we must be paying attention. We must know what is coming in and out of our minds and hearts. We must be aware of any enemy that may be on the prowl.

We must be on guard as believers. We must know that the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy. We must wear the armor of God each and everyday so that we can guard our hearts against the scheming of the enemy.

Beholding our God is one of the best ways to guard our heart.

Praying the Scriptures

Lord, help me to pay attention to what is coming in and out of my heart. Help me to guard my heart because it is the wellspring of life. May I know Your truth and be so much in communion with Your Spirit living in me that I know the truth apart from the lies. Lord, with Your help I can help to protect, keep and guard my heart.

Behold Your God

Have you taken time to reflect over all that God has done, the days of old, the works of His hands? Have you stretched out your hands to God and thirsted for Him like no other?

There is something to be said for keeping a gratitude journal or thankful journal. There is something to be said for looking back over all the many gifts God has given you. In our human minds we forget all that God has done. We can’t even remember what we had for breakfast.

Yet, when we write things down, we are keeping a record not only for ourselves but for future generations to see the faithfulness of God!

Science actually shows that when we write down our blessings, something happens in our very physical body. We begin changing. We begin to see differently. We notice. Our eyes are more fully open. Our hearts, too.

Take a quick moment and think about the things you write down throughout your day. Now, you may be more digital than I am, but I still WRITE in an actual paper planner, I write down my grocery list, notes to my kids, in my prayer journal…you get the idea.

But, why do we write things down?

We write things down that we want to remember.

I don’t know about you, but I want to remember God’s faithfulness more than my circumstances or my problems. I want to behold God and His goodness more than the things of this world.

Praying the Scriptures

Lord, help me to remember Your mighty works, help me to recount them to my family. May we ponder the works of Your hands and the days of old. We stretch out our hands to you, our woulds thirst for You in a dry and weary land.

Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. Psalm 139:7-12

Behold Your God

One of the most famous portions of Psalm 139 is, “where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence?” If we know He is everywhere, can we not see Him in everything? We must learn how to do so!

Do we believe His Word?

Do we trust Him?

We see time and time again in Scripture that God has promised to not leave or forsake His children. We must learn to take our loving Father at His Word.

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6

And if we take Him at His Word, and He is with us every moment of everyday, that means He is with us in the hard moments, the moments we turn away from Him, the joyful moments, the moments when we blow it, the moments when we aren’t faithful to Him, the moments we are showing love to others. He is near. He is in us.

He is Emmanuel: God with us.

Praying the Scriptures

Father God, You are with me. You are alive in me. You are Emmanuel. Thank You for Your Word. Help me to believe. Help my unbelief.